“Feed the Hungry”
Every Tuesday for more than 10 years; students, faculty, and staff have volunteered their lunch hour to make and deliver sandwiches to our homeless neighbors in the Santa Monica area. This student initiative to share food and fellowship with the hungry and homeless has become commonly known at LMU as -“Feed the Hungry.”
“Feed the Hungry” is a gateway for LMU students to see the reality of poverty in a simple, yet personal way. The program invites students to step outside of their comfort zone, to meet face to face with the homeless & to assist with addressing some of the basic needs of a few of our homeless neighbors with one simple weekly meal.
We continue to work closely with the city of Santa Monica, the Ocean Park Community Center, and local community activists to provide efficient, weekly service every Tuesday year round. We gather outside the Campus Minstry offices in the Malone Student Center at 11:30 a.m. to make and pack lunches. Then at 12:15 pm. (during the Convo hour), members of the LMU community drive to Santa Monica to share the lunches and enter into friendship with the homeless and hungry. This program is a simple service opportunity. The “Feed the Hungry” program strives to be a practical way for student & the LMU community to do direct service, to become exposed to concrete social justice issues, and deepen their understanding and commitment to those most in need. Although it is a simple and basic lunch, it means a lot to provide for the immediate needs of an under-served community in our local community and helps in our own growth and transformation.
A Brief History
This grassroots program grew out of an encounter in 1998 by Theresa Thibodeaux (’02) with a young pregnant teenager. Thibodeaux recalled “I began to question what I was seeing, wondering how a country so rich that it guarantees the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness allows this to happen to its very own citizens?”
And so “Feed the Hungry” was born...
View the Feed The Hungry Video created by the ROAR Network.
Supporting “Feed the Hungry”
We are always in need of volunteers and financial support (especially in these economically tough times). It costs about $100 - $130 a week to sponsor a nutritious “Feed the Hungry” meal for 100 to 125 people. If you or your organization is interested in volunteering or donating, please contact us.
Join us every Tuesday
Located outside Campus Ministry
Make Lunches: 11:30-12:00
Deliver Lunches: 12:15-1:30